I blame it on Facebook oh and before you go Iz..
01 July 2015 | Rota
Dateline, July 1 2015, the day after my last blog posting was more than 7 months ago, so why are you posting now? I blame it on Facebook...!
Day sailing down the Spanish coast within easy reach of the cell phone antennas meant posting became an hour by hour event in the latter stages of our trip. I was busy, and finding time to write and file was in short supply. But posting pithy comments, cool pics and selfies on FB is not the same as a reflective blog posting. So having recently reveled in writing about the trip for a newsletter I felt compelled to complete my missing thoughts on the Blea Tarn blog.
Our short stay in Cadiz saw the departure of my last crew member from the crossing, namely my amazing daughter Iz. The proximity to a small but well stocked marine store reminded me of a repair job, dating back weeks to our mid-Atlantic scare with the Genoa. Whilst we could use the Genoa, it was noticeable that hauling the huge sock up the mast was becoming more difficult. We reckoned that had to replace the Genoa halyard block, so Iz was once again strapped into the Boson's chair and hauled to the top of the mast. I must say I am happy she is happy to do this, and I am happy I don't have to, if you see what I mean!
Iz confirmed damage to the block, she removed the damaged block and lowered it to the deck in a bucket. On further inspection, the sheave had been shattered, and was only spec'd for 10mm line, rather than 12mm, all this explaining why we had so much resistance in the halyard. I then completed the usual DIY process of going back and forward to the marine store to finally purchase a workable replacement. 3 trips did it, and I hauled the replacement to Iz who fitted it by shackling to the mast top plate, after which we re-threaded the halyard, and dropped it to the deck. Job done! A great picture taken by Isabell.
Next day, Iz and Anthony left Cadiz by train early, we were sad to see them go, but we would get to see them again in Ireland in few weeks' time. A little later, Angela and I left the dock at Cadiz, and motored Blea Tarn the short trip across the bay to Rota, a small town overshadowed by the fort like presence of Cadiz, but having a compact and attractive old town littered with restaurants and bars.
Rota was also more convenient for renting a car. We had a number of key jobs, including checking for winter moorings, making a visit to Sevilla and arranging the pick-up of our next crew from Jerez Airport.
It's no wonder I found no time to blog!